Advisor Success Series

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Som Priestly, Head of Multi-Asset Solutions at T. Rowe Price. Som discusses their approach to market positioning, emphasizing the importance of being both realistic and diversified, particularly when investing across the artificial intelligence theme. He highlights potential shifts in the firm's AI thesis, including the pace of innovation and broader corporate adoption of AI technologies. Som also shares insights on portfolio structuring, noting their strategic overweight in high-yield credit and their recent adjustments, including reducing precious metal exposure while increasing investments in small-cap stocks and emerging markets. He expresses cautious optimism about inflation and discusses the team's ongoing efforts to align portfolio views and identify opportunities across various market scenarios.

Continuing our special series on post retirement income planning, we sit down with Sheryl O'Connor (CEO and co-founder of IncomeConductor) and Phil Lubinski (CFP, co-founder, former retail advisor specializing in retirees, and developer of the time-segmented income strategy that underpins the platform). Sheryl provides some high level industry trends including: 1) Increased Focus on Healthcare & Long-Term Care, 2) Longevity & Personalized Financial Projections, and 3) Growing Annuity Adoption. Phil speaks frequently with advisors and he finds a growing shift among advisors to 1) offer comprehensive, client-centered retirement expertise with 2) tools enabling precise, integrated modeling of guarantees, growth, and risks. Additional points brought up in this episode: Modern retirees want engagement in plan development (vs. passive in the 1980s). Time-segmented approach aligns with goal-based planning (like accumulation for multiple horizons). More guaranteed income boosts willingness to take risk and gives "permission to spend" (reducing underspending in "go-go" early retirement phases). Proactive tax planning addresses "retirement's tax trifecta" (RMDs, spousal death bracket jumps, generational transfers). Competition (targeting 50+ demographic) drives advisors toward specialization over compliance fears; technology/AI enables scalable, deeper planning.

In this episode, we are please to be joined by Sam Rines, Macro Strategist at WisdomTree. Sam shares his career journey from working at several hedge funds to joining WisdomTree as their macro strategist. We discuss how geopolitical and fiscal policies intersect to influence investment strategies, covering various geopolitical topics including Europe's industrial landscape, energy reliance, and defense capabilities, as well as the impact of tariffs on businesses and the outlook for the Asian defense industry. We conclude our discussion with insights on artificial intelligence applications in business, the current state of the business cycle, and what could surprise investors in the coming year.

In this episode, we welcome back Dave Nadig, fresh from a brief retirement and now President of ETF.com. Dave is an industry stalwart, having seen the industry through decades of ETF product development and transformation. We discuss the current landscape for product development targeting institutional, financial intermediaries (aka advisors), and retail. We cover hot product areas such as non-traditional income, leveraged, private alternatives, and structured products such as autocallables and barriers as well as the expected approval of ETF share class launches of existing mutual funds.

In this episode, we are pleased to be joined by first time guest, JoAnne Binaco, Partner and Senior Investment Strategist at BondBloxx ETFs. Recorded in early October 2025, we discuss the recent headlines around high profile collapses of some subprime lenders and how such collapses do not necessarily portend a systemic risk to the broader corporate lending environment and how investment opportunities may emerge with the rise in credit volatility. BondBloxx disclaimer: Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectus or, if available, the summary prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting https://bondbloxxetf.com/prospectuses/ or calling 800-896-5089. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. The Funds are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. There are risks associated with investing, including possible loss of principal.

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with David Blanchett and Daniel Gutman from Prudential Investment Management and Prudential Retirement Services, respectively. We discuss recent innovations within the insurance product space to provide an "insurance overlay" on top of investment managed programs, affording retirees deferred lifetime income with the flexibility in managing their existing investment programs. Our guests also share recent insights into post-retirement spending patterns based on a May 2025 research paper, "Retirees: Doing Better with Less," which can be found at https://www.davidmblanchett.com/research.

Welcome back to the Advisor Success Series Podcast. After a brief hiatus, we are pleased to be joined by Jeremy Schwartz, CIO of WisdomTree Investments. In this episode, we cover the expanding scope of WisdomTree's knowledge offerings from positioning for key geopolitical themes to emerging trends in ETF product development such as return stacking and digital tokenization.

In this episode, we are pleased to be joined by first time guest Phil McInnis, Chief Investment Strategist at Avantis Investors. Phil shares research on why investors should stay the course during periods of market volatility like what we recently witnessed following the trade tariff announcements on April 2 "Liberation Day." He reminds listeners the importance of maintaining a strategic mindset when investing in risky assets, such as equities, as the inherent risks are the reasons why stocks outperform bonds and cash over the long run. We also discuss their research into additional market risk premiums that have historically rewarded investors with higher returns such as value and cash flow profitability.

In this episode, we are rejoined by Wes Crill, Senior Investment Director at Dimensional Fund Advisors to discuss the latest performance challenges for the Fama/French factor premium framework, namely small cap value within the U.S. market. Wes provides context for these performance challenges, especially in light of positive performance of the premiums outside the U.S. and for investors to stick with the premiums over the long run.

In this episode we are pleased to be joined by Jay Jacobs, Head of Thematic and Active ETFs at BlackRock, as we explore the firm's 2025 outlook for thematic investing. Key topics include opportunities driven by a lower interest rate environment, a renewed focus on improving U.S. physical infrastructure for transportation and manufacturing, and the buildout of artificial intelligence capabilities. We'll also cover essential factors to consider when incorporating thematic exposure into your portfolio.

In this episode, we are joined by Massimo Santicchia, Co-Founder of Alpha Quant specializing in systematically-managed portfolios using a quantitative approach. We discuss the current environment where U.S. large caps have handily outperformed small caps over the last decade and why the environment is shaping up to favor small caps over large caps. We also discuss why one should be more selective with respect to fundamental characteristics when building a small cap portfolio.

In this episode, we are pleased to be joined by Chad Farrington, Co-Head Municipal Bond Investment Strategy at DWS Asset Management. Chad provides an update on the federal tax-exempt bond market, which includes issuers spanning state and local municipalities to public use facilities such as mass transit, airports, and toll roads. We also discuss the interest rate environment in light of Federal Reserve policy and the upcoming federal elections.

In this episode, we are rejoined by Taylor Lukof, CEO and Founder of ABR Dynamic Funds, to discuss the spike in market volatility catalyzed by the Bank of Japan's decision to raise interest rates that precipitated a sharp unwinding of Japanese yen-funded risk positioning. Taylor mentions how difficult it was for both professional and retail volatility traders to navigate around both the spike in market volatility as well as its quick reversion back to low levels. What happened in August is but another reminder of the challenges for do-it-yourself traders trying to positioning themselves to take a directional view on market volatility.

In this episode, we discuss the current market environment with Brian Weisenberger, Senior Market Strategist at Kensington Asset Management. Brian shares how Kensington assesses the equity and fixed income markets through a systematic lens. Although the current environment remains conducive for risk-on positioning across equities and fixed income, he does highlight some potential pockets of turbulence and why investors should incorporate some tactical strategies to navigate through this turbulence.

In this episode, we are joined by John Davi, founder of Astoria Portfolio Advisors. Following three years of John consistently and accurately forecasting inflation would persist, he now shares his revised outlook for the current challenging environment and actionable recommendations for investors. We believe this interview will help advisors to navigate between slowing growth and elevated inflation. Astoria studies economic and business cycles and emphasizes diversification across asset classes and investment styles but favors higher quality segments of the market as long as interest rates remain elevated.

In this episode, we hear about growth opportunities outside the U.S. market, which has been dominated by U.S. technology firms, primarily those investing in generative artificial intelligence. Shane Duffy, Lead Portfolio Manager for J.P. Morgan's International Equity Growth strategy, identifies growth opportunities overseas, not just in technology but in other economic segments across industrials and consumer discretionary.

In this episode, we are joined by Lewis Stocks, portfolio specialist with WestEnd Advisors, who specializes in managing strategies built around the economic cycle. Lewis shares the firm's outlook on the U.S. and international landscape and how they are positioned for a slow but steady phase of the economic cycle with an emphasis on U.S. sector positioning.

In this episode, Brian Mulberry shares with our audience the insights that can be gleaned from earnings estimate revisions as well as the need to contextualize earnings revisions with other data to provide a more robust market outlook. Zacks recognizes the headwinds of higher interest rates and a deceleration in post-pandemic spending, so investors should be mindful of the quality of the companies, such as whether those companies can weather the storm of higher costs of capital while growing their earnings.

As we kick off the 2024 season, we are pleased to be joined by Eben Burr, President of Toews Asset Management. In this episode, we discuss Toews' approach to dynamically managing downside risk in both equities and fixed income allocations within a balanced portfolio. Eben also provides his outlook on the challenges facing capital markets, especially around fiscal and monetary uncertainties heading into this year's U.S. election.

In the final episode for 2023, we are pleased to be joined by first-time guest Taylor Lukof, Founder and CEO of ABR Dynamic Funds. We discuss the basics of what it means to invest in Volatility Strategies, how to consider such strategies within a traditional asset allocation framework, and whether any market insights can be gleaned from the behavior of volatility pricing.